Ji Huixue closed the door. Yin Huizhi stood behind him and called out, “Senior Brother.”
Ji Huixue turned around. “Fortunately, you are still willing to call me Senior Brother. When we were coming upstairs just now, I was truly afraid you would call me Ji Huixue or Brother Ji.”
Yin Huizhi replied, “Senior Brother will always be Senior Brother.”
Ji Huixue gazed at him and asked bluntly, “Then, is our Master still Master? Is our Martial Uncle still Martial Uncle?”
Yin Huizhi fell silent. He knew Ji Huixue’s character. Rather than speaking harsh words that would hurt Ji Huixue’s heart, it was better to remain quiet from the start. He changed the subject. “Senior Brother, did your confinement end early? Did the Sect Leader punish you afterward?”
“No,” Ji Huixue knew his intention but followed his lead anyway, dropping the questioning. “He cannot punish me anymore. I ran away on my own.”
Yin Huizhi was truly shocked this time. He frowned at Ji Huixue. “You escaped confinement?”
Ji Huixue acted casual. “It does not count as escaping. I left a message in the confinement room saying I was going down the mountain to travel.”
Yin Huizhi truly did not know what to say.
“There is no need for that expression,” Ji Huixue said. “I had already mentioned to Master that I wanted to go down the mountain this year anyway.”
That was not the same thing at all. Yin Huizhi knew Ji Huixue simply did not want him to feel burdened, but doing such a thing was a psychological burden for Ji Huixue himself. Since they knew each other too well, Yin Huizhi spoke the words Ji Huixue least wanted to hear. “Senior Brother, I will not go back to that place again.”
Ji Huixue looked at him quietly for a moment, then suddenly turned his head away, the rims of his eyes reddening. “If you do not want to return, then do not return.”
To Yin Huizhi’s surprise, Ji Huixue did not try to persuade him, but instead spoke those words. “What good would returning do? Martial Uncle and the others are certain that” Ji Huixue’s voice was very low, sounding somewhat lost in the empty room.
Yin Huizhi was silent for a while before asking, “Senior Brother, did you never suspect me?”
Ji Huixue shook his head. “A-Yin, that cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Knowing you as I do, I completely disbelieved that you would do such a thing. But when they laid the evidence before my eyes, it would be a lie to say I was not shaken at all.”
A standard Ji Huixue-style answer; while he was simple and stubborn by nature, he was not a brainlessly biased person.
Yin Huizhi asked, “Then why did you come looking for me?”
“Because logic gave me an answer that aligned with my personal feelings: if you were the murderer, you would not have waited until your cultivation was completely destroyed to flee.” Ji Huixue gently brushed the top of Yin Huizhi’s head. “A-Yin, did you want to give everything back to them?”
Having his inner thoughts exposed, Yin Huizhi turned his face away and took several deep breaths to suppress the stinging in his eyes. Ji Huixue gently pulled him into an embrace. “A-Yin, you have suffered.”
Yin Huizhi asked in a low voice, “How did Senior Brother know I was here?”
Ji Huixue’s hand on his back paused. He slowly stepped away and looked at him with a complex expression. “Actually, I went to the Qianyin Ghost Realm first. I did not find you there, so I came here.”
Yin Huizhi’s pupils constricted slightly.
“I was just about to ask you,” Ji Huixue’s gaze grew serious. “How did you end up walking with the people of the Tianye Sect?”
“Why do you ask that?”
Ji Huixue looked at him. “Your cultivation was destroyed. Without outside intervention, how could you have escaped the dungeon? The moment you disappeared, the Young Master of the Tianye Sect made a grand entrance into the underground Black Market with a ‘new favorite’ and bought the Nirvana Bone-Transforming Pill. A-Yin, is this difficult to guess? Although I strongly disagree with the judgments and actions of the Martial Uncles, I do not want to see you punishing yourself because of others’ mistakes and taking the wrong path.”
Yin Huizhi’s face went pale and then flushed, yet he remained silent. It was only when he heard the phrase “taking the wrong path” that anger appeared. “What defines wrong, and what defines right? Senior Brother, I do not wish to argue with you about this.”
Ji Huixue looked at him quietly. In that indulgent and patient gaze, Yin Huizhi regained his composure. “I am sorry, Senior Brother.”
Ji Huixue patted his head. “It is alright.”
Yin Huizhi took a deep breath. “Everything I said during my defense that day was the truth. The demonic cultivator who stepped in to save me was Xie Ling.”
A storm rose in Ji Huixue’s eyes. “It was actually him?”
“Yes,” Yin Huizhi nodded. “It is not that I do not know one should not associate deeply with demonic cultivators, but if not for him, I would have died twice already. The night at the Cold Pool was the first time. Right before being driven down the mountain was the second. ‘Expelled from the mountain’ is just a nice way of putting it. Senior Brother, do you think a mortal with dissipated spiritual power and severe injuries could truly walk down thirty thousand stone steps alive?”
Ji Huixue fell completely silent. He opened his mouth several times to speak but closed it again. Seeing him like this, Yin Huizhi actually wanted to smile. “Senior Brother, it is actually quite good like this. I grew tired of Guanlan Mountain long ago.”
“So, is this place where your heart truly wishes to be?” Ji Huixue asked him.
Yin Huizhi thought for a moment. “Perhaps.”
Ji Huixue said in a low voice, “Before Master brought you back to Guanlan years ago, he told me your heart was too heavy with resentment and unwillingness. That was why he made you swear to forget the mortal world and never set foot in Fu City again before entering the mountain. But when I looked at your kneeling back then, I knew you could never forget. A-Yin, can you tell me why you have come back this time?”
Yin Huizhi gave a cynical laugh and thought that his Master truly had foresight. Ji Huixue looked helpless. “A-Yin.”
Yin Huizhi said, “My cultivation is gone. I can no longer do anything.”
Ji Huixue spoke slowly, “When I passed that herbal medicine shop, I saw you asking the shopkeeper about the whereabouts of Ouyang Yi.”
Yin Huizhi’s hand suddenly clenched.
“The Ouyang clan has already received the retribution they deserve, and Ouyang Yi has become an utter madman,” Ji Huixue said. “Even if you do not strike, he will not live much longer.”
“No, Senior Brother,” Yin Huizhi spoke abruptly, emphasizing each word. “I did not come back this time to kill him. I only want to clear up a doubt that has been buried in my heart for many years: what was the true cause of my mother’s death?”
“Did you not tell me before that your mother died of illness?” Ji Huixue frowned, his expression a mix of shock and suspicion. “Is there some hidden truth?”
Yin Huizhi closed his eyes. “I do not know. Everyone said so, and Mother told me so as well. But Senior Brother, I was too young then to notice anything strange. But thinking back on it later, there are suspicious points everywhere. My mother, she”
“Guest! Guest!” A rapid pounding on the door interrupted their conversation. “Guest!”
Amidst the urgent shouting, Yin Huizhi had to stop the dialogue and open the door. “What is it?”
The shop assistant outside had a face full of fawning smiles, but the words he spoke were not very pleasant. “Well, dear guests, would it be possible for you to find another place to stay?”
Yin Huizhi knitted his brows. “Why?”
The assistant said, “It is like this. A distinguished guest has arrived at our humble shop, and he specifically demanded this room.”
This was definitely targeted at them. Ji Huixue and Yin Huizhi exchanged a glance. The shop assistant, unable to read their silent communication, spoke again. “Sirs, this matter is indeed improper, but the other party’s purse is very heavy. Even if I wanted to refuse, the manager would not allow it.”
The implication was that he was just a worker, and making things difficult for him was useless. Given Ji Huixue’s temperament, he naturally could not say anything harsh. He restrained himself, pulled out his coin purse, and said to the assistant, “Then tell the manager we will pay double the price.”
The shop assistant was about to agree in shock when a lazy voice came from the corridor. “Is that so? Then I will pay ten times. What will you do then?”
A snow-white figure passed through the half-closed brown wooden wall and stood at the door. The newcomer’s eyes, filled with a half-smile, swept over the tense Yin Huizhi before resting on Ji Huixue behind him. He tilted his head slightly, as if he were asking again with his actions, “What will you do?”
Seeing this, the shop assistant hurried away.
“You are Xie Ling?” Ji Huixue asked, staring at his face.
Xie Ling clapped his hands. “Immortal Lord Ji has a keen eye.”
“Clang!”
The sword ‘Liufeng’ at Ji Huixue’s waist emitted a series of hums, signaling its master’s intent to fight. Xie Ling’s methods and cultivation were never on the same level. Yin Huizhi turned back almost instantly to press down on Ji Huixue’s hand, shaking his head slightly to signal “do not.”
Ji Huixue read the restraint but misunderstood the meaning, thinking Yin Huizhi was protecting Xie Ling. He said in a deep voice, “A-Yin, he is a demonic cultivator.”
“Immortal Lord Ji seems to have a great prejudice against demonic cultivators,” Xie Ling’s lips curved upward. “Unfortunately, this is not the Upper Cultivation Realm. Even if you shout that I am a demonic cultivator, people will only think you are talking nonsense out of spite because I bought your room.”
Ji Huixue was not influenced by him at all and questioned, “Why are you pestering A-Yin? What exactly do you want!”
Xie Ling said regretfully, “It was clearly he who broke our agreement and left first. I followed according to my promise. How can that be called pestering?”
Ji Huixue’s brow furrowed as he looked at Yin Huizhi. “Broke an agreement?”
Yin Huizhi did not explain, only saying to Xie Ling, “Master Xie, I have thought about it, and I am still afraid I will not be able to repay your kindness in the future.”
Xie Ling gave a meaningful smile. “Do you not already owe me plenty?”
Yin Huizhi lowered his gaze. “Master Xie, it is getting late. Since you have booked this room, we will not disturb you further.”
He was about to pull Ji Huixue away when he heard Xie Ling say eerily, “Do you still remember what I said by the Cold Pool?”
The question “I want a person’s life” and the follow-up “Whose?” flashed through their minds. Yin Huizhi’s footsteps stopped abruptly. He turned and glared at Xie Ling. Xie Ling, however, laughed without any burden and said nonchalantly, “Although I was joking then, I can make it real now. Do you want to try?”
Ji Huixue sensed that Yin Huizhi’s expression was wrong and immediately shouted at Xie Ling, “Shut up!”
He drew ‘Liufeng’, but his wrist suddenly lost all strength. With a “clatter,” the long sword slipped from his hand and hit the floor. Xie Ling’s eyes crinkled. “Sorry, I forgot to mention. I added a little something to that cup of tea in your room earlier.”
Yin Huizhi’s expression changed drastically. He flashed forward to block Ji Huixue, emphasizing each word. “Xie Ling.”
Xie Ling replied, “I am here.”
Yin Huizhi looked at him. “I will go back with you. Let my Senior Brother go.”
Mouths can lie, but eyes rarely do. In that fleeting moment just now, he had seen real killing intent in Xie Ling’s eyes.